LATEST CONFIRMED CASES OF COVID-19 IN SOUTH AFRICA (23 November 2021)

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, continues to provide laboratory-based surveillance to inform the public health response towards COVID-19 in South Africa.

Today the institute reports 868 new COVID-19 cases that have been identified in South Africa, which brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,948,760. This increase represents a 2.1% positivity rate.  As per the National Department of Health, a further 51 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89,635 to date.

19,244,585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

Sector Total tested New tested
Private 10,327,920 53.7% 17,700 43.4%
Public 8,916,665 46.3% 23,091 56.6%
Total 19,244,585  100.0% 40,791  100.0%

PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN

The cumulative number of cases by province is shown in the table below:

 Province New cases on 23 Nov 2021 Total cases for 23 Nov 2021 Percentage total
Eastern Cape 26 293,047 9,9
Free State 21 165,349 5,6
Gauteng 605 931,717 31,6
KwaZulu-Natal 31 517,837 17,6
Limpopo 23 123,174 4,2
Mpumalanga 47 153,419 5,2
North West 43 153,551 5,2
Northern Cape 20 93,183 3,2
Western Cape 52 517,483 17,5
Total 868 2,948,760 100,0

INCLUSION OF ANTIGEN TESTING DATA

As of today, retrospective antigen tests are being loaded to fill in gaps that existed while antigen test providers put systems in place to report to the National Department of Health (NDoH). The NICD and NHLS optimised the systems to accurately reflect these reports. Please refer to the media statement that was released by the NDoH on 23 November 2021.

The increase in cumulative cases in today’s report is attributed to the retrospective addition of 18 586 antigen tests, that include the reporting of 868 positive cases recorded in the past 24 hours. The incorporation of antigen tests follows ongoing improvements to report as accurately as possible from all provinces and all testing facilities throughout South Africa. 19 244 585 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors as per the table below.

See below an updated table with the breakdown of cases (new/retrospective) reported in red.

Province Cumulative total cases as at 22 November 2021 Adjusted numbers after harmonisation Updated total cases on 22 November 2021 New cases on 23 November 2021 Retrospective case data Cumulative total cases as at 23 November 2021 Percentage total
Eastern Cape 292691 0 292691 26 330 293047 9.9
Free State 163999 0 163999 21 1329 165349 5.6
Gauteng 923618 0 923618 605 7494 931717 31.6
KwaZulu-Natal 516485 0 516485 31 1321 517837 17.6
Limpopo 122459 -1 122458 23 693 123174 4.2
Mpumalanga 152405 1 152406 47 966 153419 5.2
North West 151045 0 151045 43 2463 153551 5.2
Northern Cape 93003 0 93003 20 160 93183 3.2
Western Cape 514469 0 514469 52 2962 517483 17.5
Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Total 2930174 0 2930174 868 17718 2948760 100.0

Furthermore, the retrospective inclusion of these positive cases into the surveillance data will have no impact on case management, as those in question were immediately informed of their positive test result. It is important to note that the identification of these additional data are not unusual as data harmonisation remains an ongoing process.

For more information on COVID-19, click here.

Kind regards,
Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, Senior Communications Manager
National Institute for Communicable Diseases

Diseases A-Z Index

RECENT POSTS

SHARE

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin